Pay gap means women work two months free

Women work on average nearly two months without wages every year compared to men, according to a TUC analysis of the gender pay gap.

With the gap at 14.9%, women must wait 54 days – nearly eight weeks – before they stop working for free. That puts “Women’s Pay Day” (when the average woman stops working for free when compared to a man) at 23 February. The free period is even longer for older women, as well as for those in some industries and some parts of the country.

The pay gap is higher for women in their 50s and 60s, largest in the south east and east of England, and wider in finance and insurance, as well as education and healthcare. Women aged between 50 and 59 have the highest pay gap (20.8%) and work the equivalent of 76 days for free, until 16 March 2023.